It is known to oxidatively dehydrogenate alkanes, such as alkanes containing 2 to 6 carbon atoms, for example ethane or propane resulting in ethylene and propylene, respectively, in an oxidative dehydrogenation (oxydehydrogenation; ODH) process.
Examples of alkane ODH processes, including catalysts and other process conditions, are for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,091,377, WO2003064035, US20040147393, WO2010096909, US20100256432 and CA1262556. Mixed metal oxide catalysts, for example mixed metal oxide catalysts containing molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) and optionally other metals can be used as oxydehydrogenation catalysts.
In an oxidative dehydrogenation process of ethane into ethylene, acetic acid is also formed.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved process for ethane oxidative dehydrogenation. One aim is to achieve a relatively high activity and/or a relatively high selectivity for the conversion of ethane into ethylene. Another aim is to obtain relatively pure ethylene. A further aim is to recover relatively pure acetic acid.